#BringBackRover: the return of Clippy’s partner
Although we almost always make references with ClippyMicrosoft has always also had other assistants, more or less charismatic. In addition to the well-known Office assistants (such as the magician, the ball, the robot or the dog), within Windows itself we could also find other small characters that have earned the trust of users. And one of them is Rover (Rufus, in Spanish).
Rover is based on Microsoft Agent SDK and it used to appear when opening file explorer or searching for anything in Windows XP. It was possible to drag this dog wherever we wanted and make it bark or walk across the screen.
Like the rest of the attendees (except Cortana, unfortunately), Microsoft ended him after the death of XP, and has not made references to him again. However, the movement #BringBackRover you want to bring it back to Windows 10 or Windows 11. Wouldn’t it be great to have it as a companion?
Karateka: an easter egg from 37 years ago
Easter eggs are small secrets, or winks, that the developers hide in operating systems, programs and games waiting for someone to discover them, either on purpose or by chance. The purpose of these Easter eggs is to make the user smile when they least expect it.
There are some well-known Easter Eggs, like the famous Linux “apt moo”, others less known, like the Doom ports in the Windows firewall or the nod to the Lord of the Rings, and others yet to be discovered. Today, 37 years after the launch of Karateka, a known suit for Apple II, a new easter egg has appeared within this game.
The thing is, if the floppy was placed backwards, instead of giving an error, the game played backwards. A very curious trick that involved a great deal of code and ingenuity. And, to this day, it continues to bring more than one smile to many.
Programs to update
In addition, many developers have taken the opportunity to update their programs so that they can continue to work in the best possible way. Some of these programs are:
- simplewall– A very simple program to configure Windows Filtering Platform without complications. Thanks to it we can create and edit rules, block certain traffic (such as telemetry) and even protect ourselves from certain computer attacks. The new version 3.3.5 adds commands, a new icon for the system tray and fixes a good amount of errors and bugs. We can download it from this link.
- Winaero Tweaker: a very complete tool to configure everything related to the customization and appearance of Windows. The new version 1.20.1 comes with a new function: it allows us to restore the original appearance of Windows 11. We can download it from here.
- CrystalDiskMark: one of the most complete programs to measure the performance of our hard drives or SSDs. The new version 8.0.3 focuses on improving compatibility with Windows 11 and also fixing a bug when taking screenshots. We can download this tool from its website.
- Glary Utilities– Complete cleaning and optimization software for Windows. The new version of this program, 5.169.0.195, focuses on correcting several minor bugs and optimizing some of the functions of the program itself. We can download it from here.
